And we all fall down
by SilverSmile
Summary: It's Christmas time, but things in the Cullen residence are not festive. With doubting lovers, cheating partners, arguing duo's and interfearing cousins, things are about to get explosive as tempers boil over and people are forced to confront their fears.
1. Chapter One Falling Out Of Love

Hello, this is a new story with a Christmas theme to it. I know it's out of season, but I wanted an event where the whole family could come together and there could be a lot of drama going on.

This is an AU, all human story done just for fun.

Disclaimer: The characters are not mine.

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**And we all fall down...**

**Chapter One – Falling out of Love **

The drive had been silent, save for the classical music playing on the CD player and the usual noise of the car's engine. Isabella Swan stared almost sightlessly out the window, hands resting daintily in her lap, giving all the outward signs that she was calm and relaxed. Inside, however, was a bubbling inferno of hurt, anger and slight panic.

She turned her head slightly to the right so she could just see the driver of the car out of the corner of her eyes. The sight of him made her heart both jump for joy and cry out in pain.

Edward Cullen was the most handsome man she had ever had the pleasure of meeting in her life. The fact that she had known him since she was twelve when she'd moved back to Forks with her father only made it so she'd been able to watch him grow into the man he was today. He was everything a girl dreamed of in a partner. Kind, loving, completely devoted to her and not to mention extremely attractive. He had been her best friend since the first day they had met and, when they were seventeen, he'd finally asked her out and they'd been together ever since.

However, in the last three months, ever since their sixth year anniversary, he'd been growing distant from her. Suddenly, whenever she entered the room he would seem to leave, or when she went to kiss him he had was too busy to kiss her back. They hadn't even made love for two months now, and the last time was fast and lacked the usual loving tenderness they shared.

She just didn't know what she was going to do. Did he not love her anymore?

The song finished and a slow piano melody began. She pulled her eyes away from him and sighed softly. They had arrived in Forks now and it would only be a matter of minutes before they would be at his parents place. Bella had been spending Christmas at the Cullen place ever since she was eighteen, when her father had passed away. It was always a fun time and over the years their party had grown as both Edwards older brother and younger sister married. Then there was always the chance of a more distant relative showing up, having been in the area at the time and wanting to share Christmas with family rather than by themselves.

Sure enough, not five minutes later, Edward was pulling up in the drive of his childhood home and Bella quickly opened the door and got out. It had been so uncomfortable in the car; neither of them had spoken for the last half an hour at least. Closing the car door, she looked up at the two story white house and a smile came to her lips unbidden. She'd always loved this house and Esme – Edwards mother – was an excellent interior decorator.

"Bella! Edward!" Speak of the devil.

"Esme!" Bella exclaimed as the older woman opened the door and moved quickly down the front steps of the veranda to embrace the younger woman.

"Merry Christmas! Oh, it's so good to see you both! I'm so happy you're here, and you made such good time too. Come in, come in; we don't want to catch a cold out here in the snow now do we?" She happily bubbled and Bella couldn't stop smiling even if she wanted to. Taking the suitcase Edward had just pulled out of the boot, Bella happily linked arms with Esme and the two women walked inside with Edward following with their other suitcase.

Stepping into the glorious warmth of inside, Bella took of the heavy cloak she had been wearing and hung it up before stepping into the welcoming parlour.

"So, where's Carlisle?" Bella asked, looking around expectantly for Esme's husband.

"Oh, he's in his study right now. I'm sure he'll be down soon." Esme said, though something about her smile darkened, making Bella curious as an almost sad glint entered Esme's soft brown eyes.

However, before she could think any further on the subject, the front door was thrown open and Edward's older brother, Emmett, and his wife, Rosalle walked into the room.

"Edward! Bella! Mum! Merry Christmas!" Emmett exclaimed loudly, as though he'd not been expecting to see them at all. Without any real warning, though they should have guessed as he did this every time they saw one another for their family get-togethers, he engulfed each other them in a bear-sized hug, leaving everyone slightly breathless. Rose moved in next and greeted Edward and Esme with a warm smile, though that smile turned fidgety cold when it rested on Bella.

Bella wasn't exactly sure what it was she had done to offend the blond to such a degree, but the two had never gotten along. For some unknown reason, Emmett's wife just didn't like Bella – at all!

Rose, Emmett and Edward had just disappeared up-stairs to put their bags away when the door opened again and Alice and her husband Jasper walked inside. Though, from the frowns on their faces it wasn't a very merry Christmas at all on their drive here.

As soon as Alice's eyes landed on Bella, however, a huge smile flashed across her face, erasing any frown that had been there.

"Oh! Thank goodness I came when I did! Don't worry Bella, I've brought loads of clothes so you won't have to go around in those rags at all for the next three days!" She chirped, sounding extremely pleased with herself.

Though Bella loved being around Alice, she was a very nice and caring person, when it came to what Alice believed was good fashion and what she didn't, she could be downright evil. It didn't matter that Alice had been a constant in their lives since she had met Jasper at collage three years ago, when she saw something she didn't like she said so. Bella tried to tell her that she didn't need help and liked the way she was, it was like trying to talk sense into a brick wall – Alice just flat out didn't listen.

Rather than telling Alice to mind her own bloody business and leave her clothes alone, Bella just forced a small smile and hoped no one asked her to talk any time soon. She might just tell them where they could take their advice and go.

She was saved from being spoken to, however, by the arrival of Angela and her new husband of two months, Ben. While Angela was a distant cousin of the Cullen's, she'd never much gotten along with the rest of the family. Which was surprising as she was such a nice, sweet girl.

"Merry Christmas everyone!" Angela said happily, pulling people into hugs as she went around the room, Ben quietly wishing everyone a Merry Christmas in a more stated manner.

"Oh, Bella, it's so good to see you again!" She exclaimed, giving her a tight hug that Bella happily returned.

"You too, Angela; it's been far too long since we last spoke." Bella agreed easily.

"Esme, is there anything I can do to help you out?"

Typically, Angela's first thoughts were to help people.

"I'll take this upstairs." Ben called out before disappearing with their luggage.

"Ok, don't take too long." Angela said happily to him, sending him a bright smile, which he returned.

'_They're so in love.'_ Bella thought, wishing her life could be as fairy-tale as theirs was.

"Is this everyone?" Bella asked turning to Esme.

"Well, no, there is Mike and his girlfriend Jessica, who have yet to arrive." Esme said it while not looking at Bella, knowing already how much she disliked being around them.

"Well, I guess it can't be helped." Bella said diplomatically, resigned to the idea, as she knew nothing she could say would make them not come.

Mike Newton was another distant relative of the Cullen family, one most of them tried to forget shared their blood. Where the Cullen's were a kind, giving and considerate family, the Newton's were money grabbing, materialistic and small-minded.

As if her very thoughts had summoned them, the door opened a final time to reveal Mike and his girlfriend Jessica. Though Bella used the term girlfriend very loosely as the two seemed to sleep more with other people than they did together.

"Isabelle!" Mike exclaimed upon seeing her in the room. Ignoring everyone else, he made a beeline for her as a resounding shriek from Jessica announced that Edward had come back down stairs from putting away their luggage.

'_And so it begins,'_ she thought tryingly to herself.

"Mike," she forced a smile on her face at the same time as she glanced over at Esme, pleading with her eyes for help.

"Bella, why don't you come and help me for a moment, I could use an extra pair of hands." Esme said quietly, linking arms with Bella so that Mike couldn't refuse.

"Oh, well, talk to you later Bella!" Mike said disappointedly.

If there was one good thing about Mike Newton, it was that he was a complete pushover.

"Thank you!" Bella whispered to her savoir once they left the room and walked into the kitchen. The older woman just laughed before pulling away and moving around the large kitchen to being making tea, hot coco and pulling out freshly baked cookies from the oven.

"It's no problem at all." Esme said as Bella moved closer to help. Together they shared a smile as they began to work harmoniously around one another.

Bella had always loved Esme and viewed her as a second mother or older sister. They told one another everything and despite the age gap, they got along splendidly.

"So, are you sure Carlisle's home? I'm surprised he's not been down yet. If you hadn't of said anything I'd have thought he was still at the hospital." Bella said with a teasing smile.

"Oh, he's home – for a change." Bella paused in what she was doing at the odd sound of Esme's voice. Though she kept moving, it suddenly seemed far more unconsciously done then with any real thought. "He's been spending a lot of time at the hospital lately, more than I can ever remember him doing so before. I barely see him now. If I tried, I'm sure I could go days without actually seeing him or speaking to him even."

Concern flooded Bella as she listened to Esme's pain filled words. Clearly something wasn't right and if the resigned note Bella could hear in her voice was to be believed, then…

"You don't think he's… seeing someone do you?" She asked in a whisper, as if saying it any louder would make it true.

Esme just looked over at her with a heartbreakingly sad smile on her face. That was all Bella needed to know to be aware that seeing someone was exactly what Esme thought.

"It couldn't possibly be true! Carlisle loves you more than anything!" Bella protested. Esme just shrugged and spoke quietly.

"Sometimes people fall out of love just as suddenly as they fell into it."

Though Bella knew Esme wasn't talking about her own situation, she still felt panic well up inside her. Was this the same thing that was happening between Edward and herself, what he falling out of love with her too?

Something of her panic must have shown on her face for Esme paused in what she was doing and gave her a concerned look of her own.

"Bella, is everything ok?"

Opening her mouth to confess the whole thing, to finally tell someone her fears; they were interrupted by Rosalie, Alice and Angela suddenly walking into the kitchen. Quickly sending Esme a look saying that they would speak later, Bella put a small smile on her face and buried her fears once again.

"Well Edward, Emmett and Jasper went upstairs to talk to dad." Alice said, rolling her eyes and muttering something about men's business being a load of rubbish.

"Alice, you know it's just an excuse for them to go and tease Carlisle about his painting collection." Rose said with a roll of her eyes as she leaned over and picked up a tray containing some of the cups and cookies.

The two bickered lightly as the other ladies gathered up the plates and brought them into the informal dinning area. A large fire was roaring in the hearth and numerous squashy looking chairs were scattered around the room.

Mike and Jessica had already made themselves comfortable on separate couches, ensuring that some poor soul would be stuck having to listen to them either flirt outrageously with them or complain loudly about how rotten their luck in life was.

Stealing a seat in an armchair for one person, Bella pretended not to notice the disappointed look on Mike's face when she'd flat out ignored him motioning for her to come and sit next to him. They were saved from having to try and make conversation with the duo by the rest of their party entering the room, Carlisle in tow.

"Merry Christmas everyone." He said loudly and happily, a huge smile on his face.

Seeing someone who was like a second father to her, Bella just couldn't seem to find the strength to offer him more than a half-smile. Every time she looked at him, all she could see was that heartbreakingly sad smile on Esme's face. Turning to Angela who was sitting in the chair beside her own, Bella began a conversation about how her honeymoon had been, taking comfort in the large smile on her friends face.

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	2. Chapter Two – Things get worse

The next chapter is finally here! I'd actually thought I'd posted it, but then realised I'd just uploaded it -.-

Well, I hope everyone enjoys it, things seem to be getting worse in the Cullen household, unfortunately they're not going to get better any time soon as Bella learns more secrets and stresses over her own deteriorating love life.

Disclaimer - character's aren't mine.

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**Chapter Two ****– Things get worse **

After helping with the clean up of morning tea, Bella ventured up stairs to unpack some of her things. She entered the room she was sharing with Edward and closed the door behind her before moving over to her suitcase. It was just as she was opening the zip that the slightly muffled sound of Jasper and Alice's voices came through the wall beside her. Pausing in what she was doing, Bella moved closer to the wall.

"You're so self-centred! Sometimes I wonder what happened to you." Jasper's angry voice could just be made out from where Bella was standing.

"Oh, so I'm self-centred am I? You're so full of crap!" Alice snapped back in a surprisingly venomous voice.

"All you care about is shopping and dressing up people. They're not your models at work, this is my family!"

"Oh, so they're only yours? Last I checked I was the one with the same blood! This will be great though, now I can end this stupid marriage once and for all and I won't even have to see my family again because they're yours!"

"Go ahead: it'd do us all a favour! I'm buggered if I even know why we got married in the first place!"

"Well I can tell you the feeling's mutual!"

There was the sound of silence for a moment before Jasper spoke again, though his voice was quieter and Bella had to strain her ears to understand what he was saying.

"Alice, I'm beginning to wonder if I was ever in love with you in the first place."

Bella gasped quietly as shock ran through her. However, Alice didn't get a chance to reply before there was a slamming of their bedroom door as one of them left.

Sitting down heavily on the bed in shock, only one thought ran through Bella's head.

'_What happened to everyone being in love?__'_

_***()_

Lunch was a simple affair, with sandwiches for everyone. They then moved on to putting up the Christmas tree, which had been saved for today as a tradition. The Christmas tree was not to be put up without all the family present.

As they all worked together, Bella took a moment to look around at everyone. Edward hadn't really said a word to her all morning, apart from their strained conversation in the car. So far, she hadn't even really seen him since they'd arrived unless it was at mealtime or briefly in passing in their room. He was sitting across the room working on his own assigned task while she was pulling out decorations with Angela. Ben was working on replacing the light bulbs that had blown on the fairy lights for the tree with Rosalie's help. Emmett was putting the tinsel on the tree with Jasper while Alice and Esme giggled like little kids over the ordainments, telling Mike and Jessica stories about where the ordainments had come from while the two listeners pretended to pay attention. Carlisle was pushing out the branches of the plastic tree they used every year so that it would be easier to hang things on it.

"So how are things going with Ben?" Bella asked Angela, turning away from the festive scene before her. Angela's smile got large as she let out a happy sounding sigh.

"It's great! I'm having so much fun with Ben." Angela said, looking down at the ordainment she was unwrapping in her hands.

"It's more than I'd ever thought it could be."

"I wish my life could be that great with Edward." Bella sighed wistfully.

Angela suddenly looked up at her, an odd look on her face as she shook her head.

"There are advantages to not being married too."

Angela then moved away, catching Esme and Alice's attention as she asked about the ordainment she had just pulled out. Mike and Jessica sent her scathing looks for getting the two giggling women started again.

'_What an odd thing to say.'_

_***()_

Bella finished washing her hands before exiting the bathroom and heading for the kitchen. It was time to start on dinner and she wanted to help Esme with it. However, when she walked into the kitchen it wasn't Esme standing at the counter, but Rose. The blond woman was standing there, eyes unfocused as she stared out the window and into the darkness, her mind obviously miles away.

Clearing her throat, Rose jumped and spun around, an irritated look crossing her face upon seeing Bella standing in the doorway.

"Hey, I'm here to help with dinner." Bella tried for a friendly smile as she moved into the room. With an almost put-upon sigh, Rose merely grabbed a knife and put it on the marble counter top.

"You can cut the veggies." She said simply.

Surprised as Rose's attitude, usually she flung numerous insults at Bella whenever they were alone, expressing her clear dislike for the girl. Now, she just seemed almost absent-minded and uncaring that Bella was even there.

Feeling curious, Bella decided to try talking to the blond woman.

"So, how are you Rosalie?" She asked in her most neutral voice, beginning to chop the vegetables like instructed.

"Fine mostly, just a little of a stomach bug recently." Rose shrugged her shoulders, not looking over at Bella, her eyes remaining on the darkness outside.

"Oh, yes, I had one a little while ago too. Horrible things." Bella nodded her head even though Rose wasn't watching. The small conversation they had stopped there, both content to lose themselves in their own thoughts as they made dinner in silence.

Bella couldn't understand it, was there something in the water? Why were so many of her loved ones having problems with their significant others? As she sat at dinner, she half listened to Emmett's bad jokes and the slightly strained conversation around the table. She could see the fake smiles on people faces and their laughs were just that little bit too forced, too happy. The sadness in their hearts reflected in their eyes and unwillingness to be too close to one another, lest someone catches on.

Her mind was still plagued with these thoughts as she headed towards the stares later that night, her feet leading her to her bed. However, as she was about to pass the laundry, Esme quickly came out and took her hand, pulling her into the small room. Turning and closing the door and locking it, Esme looked back at Bella with concerned eyes.

"Bella dear, what's wrong? You haven't been yourself since you got here." She said, motherly concern in her voice.

Looking at the love and concern before her, Bella felt her emotions get the best of her and her eyes filled with tears.

"Oh Esme," she whispered. "I-I don't think Edward l-loves me anymore."

The older woman's eyes grew wide and she took Bella's smaller hands into her own.

"Why would you say that? You've been together for at least the last five years and I know he loved you long before that."

"He's just been so distant lately. He never wants to spend any time alone with me. I thought maybe I'd done something wrong, but whenever I try and get him to open up to me, he just blows it off. The only thing left would be to confront him about it and-and I don't think I can do that and have him tell me that he no longer loves me."

Esme looked at her in silent shock for a moment before pulling her to her chest and hugging her tightly, not seeming to know what to say and so showing her support through actions. Bella cried out her frustrations and hurt as the woman who was her mother in all but blood and name held her, allowing her to cry.

"I'm sure he's just had a lot on his mind lately, that's all." Esme tried to reassure Bella, but the hollow sound of her words reflected the ones Bella had said to Esme that morning in an effort to comfort her.

They both froze when they heard voices, holding their breath as the sound of Mike talking to Jessica floated to their ears through the door. They waited until it was silent outside again before letting out a breath of relief.

"Sorry for crying all over you." Bella said, embarrassment taking root as she was reminded of the rest of the household.

"Don't be silly, Bella. I'll tell you what. Tomorrow night we'll stay up late and you can cry as much as you like. I'll make hot coco and I might even join you." Esme said softly, wiping away some of the tears on the younger woman's cheek as Bella let out a chocked giggle.

Splashing some water on her face from the basin in the laundry, Bella took in a few deep breaths in an effort to calm herself down. Shaking her head slightly, she took one last deep breath before bidding Esme goodnight and slipping out of the room unnoticed before heading towards the stares and her room again.

Opening the door quietly, Bella peeked into the room and saw that Edward was already in bed, sleeping if the gentle rhythmic motion of his chest was anything to go by. Moving into the room she quickly got ready for bed with the aid of the moonlight streaming in from the open curtains, thankful it was a full moon that night so she needn't turn on the lights and wake him.

Sliding into the double bed, she curled her hands under her chin and rested on her side, eyes trained on the sleeping man beside her. She spent the majority of the night just watching him sleep, soaking in his handsome features and wishing they could stay like this forever.

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	3. Chapter Three – Rose's Secret

So, I was feeling a bit guilty that I'd not realized I'd not posted chapter two for so long. Thus, another chapter! :)

Well, things seem to be going down hill pretty fast and Bella manages to find out a secret about Rose that will change many people's lives. Also, Bella and Jasper have an odd heart-to-heart moment on the back porch, but will it change anything?

Disclaimer: character's aren't mine.

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**Chapter Three ****– Rose's Secret **

"You're up early, Angela." Bella commented as she walked into the kitchen. It was early in the morning and Bella had expected herself to be the only one awake at this hour. She had come down stairs in search of a warm drink of some kind, only to see Angela already sitting at the kitchen counter with a cup of steaming tea cradled in her hands.

Angela just smiled up at her as she prepared her own cup of tea before joining her friend at the table. They sat in silence for a while until Bella, thoughts once again straying to Esme, voiced a question.

"What would you do, Angela, if you thought your husband was cheating on you?"

Looking over and seeing the shocked look on Angela's face, Bella quickly continued.

"You know, hypothetically speaking of course."

Angela looked down at her tea for a moment as in thought before sighing softly and speaking, clearly uncomfortable.

"Well, I'd confront him about it and then, if he was, it'd depend on how much I loved him as to whether I'd stay and give him another chance or not. Also, how many times he's cheated, who with… all sorts of different factors need to be considered." She said, her voice truthful.

Bella raised an eyebrow at her as an amused look crossed her face.

"You've been watching those soap operas again, haven't you?" She giggled, causing Angela to smile ruefully. Angela had the guilty pleasure of watching unrealistically dramatic soap operas on TV, something she had been doing since she was twelve. Looking at the grounded young woman, no one would ever pick her as the soapy type.

"You could say that."

Bella continued to giggle as Esme walked into the room, a small smile on her face.

"Isn't it a little early for that much laughter?"

"Nope, it's never too early for laughter." Bella said, her giggles finally subsiding.

Smiling, Esme shook her head as she poured herself her own cup of tea before turning to Bella.

"Bella, could you be a dear and go wake everyone up for me? I want to start breakfast at a reasonable time today as we've got so much to do."

Nodding, Bella drank the last of her tea before getting to her feet and ascending the stairs again, beginning a familiar routine she had done many times as a child.

She reached out and opened Jasper and Alice's door first as they were closest to the stairs. Looking in, she was surprised to find that instead of the duo sleeping in the large double bed, Jasper had obviously set up a make-shift bed beside the frame while Alice was sitting up in bed, clearly having just woken up.

"B-Bella!" Alice exclaimed as her eyes landed on her, clearly becoming fully awake at the sight of her. Her eyes glanced for a second between Bella at the door and Jasper on the floor before she let out a shaky sounding laugh.

"Jasper! What on earth are you doing on the floor? Did you fall out of bed, sweetheart?" She continued to laugh nervously as Jasper pulled himself to his feet before sitting on the side of the bed.

"Yeah, I must have fallen out of bed sometime during the night." He agreed, though he merely kept his eyes averted from Bella, an uncomfortable look clear on his face.

"Oh, you need to be careful Jasper, you might hurt yourself doing that." Bella forced a smile on her face, not able to bring herself to call their bluff when they both looked so pathetic.

"Did you need something, Bella?" Alice asked, clearly relaxing with the thought of Bella believing them.

"Esme said we need to have breakfast soon as we've got a lot to do today." Bella said, then quickly turned and left the room, not wishing to linger there any longer.

Moving to the next room along, Bella took a deep breath before knocking then poking her head into the room. She distrustfully frowned as she noticed Carlisle shove something into the desk draw he was standing before.

"Bella, did you need something?" He asked, voice calm as always, though one of his hands was clutching the edge of his desk showing how uncomfortable and tense he was.

"Esme wants us downstairs for breakfast." She said shortly, unable to keep a cold edge out of her voice. She then pulled back and closed the door, leaving him with a baffled look on his face as he tried to work out what he had done to deserve such a moody good morning.

Taking a moment to compose herself and wipe off the almost angry frown on her face, she moved across the hall to the spare room where Mike and Jessica were staying. She knocked before opening the door and sticking her head into the room.

"Hey, we need to – OH MY GOD!" Pulling herself away from the door and slamming it shut again, she shuddered as the image of Mike and Jessica engaging in their morning 'exercise' burned itself into her memory.

"Breakfast is ready!" She called through the door, before quickly moving further down the hallway, not wishing to be anywhere near those two right now.

'_I think I've lost my appetite for the rest of my life after that traumatising experience.' _

Shaking her head, she opening Ben's door and saw him still sitting in bed, his laptop resting on his lap.

"Breakfast is almost ready." She said simply, getting a nod in acknowledgement, she closed the door and made her way to the last of the rooms she had to tell. She had almost reached the door when it was suddenly flung open and a flash of blond went across her vision and disappeared into the bathroom, the door not fully closing behind her.

Not seconds later there was the sound of someone throwing up their dinner from last night.

'_What on earth! Why would she be feeling sick this early in the morning if it was just a stomach bug? Being sick in the morning normally mean__s-'_

Bella let out a small gasp before quickly sticking her head into the room Emmett was still in, looking half asleep, and informed him breakfast was basically ready. She then shut the door and quickly made her way over to the bathroom, slipping inside and closing the door firmly behind her and locking it.

Rose was crouched over the toilet; her long blond hair held back in a messy bun and a pitiful look on her face.

"How far along are you?" Bella asked, now positive her thought was correct.

"Seven weeks is what they told me." Rose sighed loudly, moving around so she was sitting on the ground, using the wall to support herself.

"Have you said anything to him yet?" Bella asked, watching the other woman carefully to make sure she was all right.

"No, no one was supposed to know about it yet." Rose said, looking at her in a pointed manner.

"I'm sorry, but if you need any help or anything at all, just let me know." Bella said kindly. Rose looked at her in surprise before nodding hesitantly at the sink.

"Could you get me a glass of water and some mouth wash… please?"

Nodding, Bella got what was asked and then handed it over to Rose and waited patiently for her to finish before replacing the items.

Sudden pounding on the door startled both girls, making them look over at the locked door.

"Bella? Are you in there?" Edward's voice called through the wood.

Glancing over at Rose's panicked expression, Bella made a split second decision.

"Yeah, just a minute, Edward."

"Are you ok? I thought I heard someone being sick in there?" He sounded slightly weary as he spoke, as if expecting her to yell at him.

Bella, for her part, was surprised at his unusual observational skills but quickly answered so he wouldn't become suspicious.

"Oh, um, it was just a bit of an upset stomach, that's all." She said in a reassuring voice. There was a pause before she could hear him sighing on the other side of the door.

"If you're sure that's all it is. I could go get dad if you need me to." He offered, not seeing the panicked looks now on both women's faces.

"NO! I-I mean, no, I'm fine!" She said hurriedly. "Just go down stairs, I'll be there in a minute, just let me brush my teeth." She said quickly, not wanting him to come up with any more disastrous ideas.

There was a moment of silence, before they heard movement and then the sound of his footsteps walking away from the door. The two in the bathroom both let out twin sighs of relief.

"Thank for, you know, not saying anything, Bella." Rose said quietly, offering a slight smile.

"Hey, we're family and, I hope on some tiny level, friends Rosalie." Bella smiled a friendly smile at the pregnant girl. She may have not liked she too much, but Bella was always willing to try and bridge the gap between them.

"If you need my help with, this," she waved her hand towards Rose's stomach. "Just tell me and I'll do whatever you need and cover for you if you need it, until you're ready to tell Emmett." Rose smiled fully at her before getting up and the two made their way out of the bathroom and went their separate ways.

***()

Breakfast was followed by more cooking; as the Christmas lunch for the next day was prepared so that it wouldn't be a rush job for tomorrow. It was only Jessica who seemed far more determined to flirt with whatever guy was in the room than to actually help the other woman cook. While the majority of the ladies worked on the food, the guys were in the massive sunroom organizing the long table they would be using for lunch the next day. The task of finding the matching chairs was surprisingly difficult as throughout the year they seemed to try and make an escape from the house. When Emmett had dropped down from a tree holding one of the chairs everyone just gave up wondering how the hell it had managed to get up there.

It was while Bella was taking a break from cooking duty and sitting on the back porch with some hot coco when, to her surprise, Jasper came out and sat down beside her.

"Hey," he said softly.

"Hi, how's it going?" She asked, taking a sip from the mug cradled in her hands.

"Fine, you?" He asked, looking over the snow covered grounds before him.

"Fine." She replied simply, content not to tell the truth if he wouldn't either.

They lapsed into silence for a moment before he sighed softly.

"You love Edward, right?" He asked quietly.

"Yeah," she answered without delay, making sure her voice betrayed none of the sadness she felt.

"What made you fall in love with him?" Jasper purposely didn't look over at her as he spoke.

"Well, lots of things, I guess. I mean," she took a deep breath and looked away from him as well. "It was just, as cheesy as it sounds, when I was around him I felt so much better, so much warmer. When he came into the room, it was like there was just a little bit more light coming through the windows, the sun had become just a little bit brighter, just for us." She smiled sadly before a thought occurred to her and she looked back at him quickly.

"Just like how you fell in love with Alice the first time you laid eyes on her. You know, when Alice came home that day, she couldn't stop smiling and she told us all that you would be the man she'd marry and love forever." Bella laughed lightly at the memory.

"Love isn't always easy and it's not supposed to be, I think. They say that the things in life that really mean the most are normally harder to obtain, but they're always worth fighting for. You don't want to let go of something only to realize that she was the best thing in your life."

Seeing the surprised and slightly defensive look crossing his face as he turned to look at her, she hurried to continue.

"I'm not saying that we should just blindly go along with anything just because we supposedly love someone, challenge them by all means! But, make sure that you take the time to talk with each other about your problems or their bad habits. When Edward first moved in with me, he used to have this really annoying habit of making decisions without asking me first. It was always, decide on something, and then ask Bella if that was ok. It meant half the time we couldn't change the decisions if I presented a better argument that disagreed because he'd always ask me a long time after he'd made the decision.

"So, one day, I sat him down calmly and explained to him how it made them feel when he did that. We didn't yell or scream or throw things at each other we simply talked rationally about it and he apologized. He'd never given it much thought as he was so used to acting that way, it didn't occur to him I mightn't like it. So, because he loves… loved me, he remembered to include me more."

Bella ignored the pang in her chest at the thought of those happier days with the man she loved. Turning back to Jasper, a blush stained her cheeks when she realized that she had his full attention, something she normally wasn't privy to.

"You're a smart girl, Bella… thanks, I'll see you later." He then stood and went back inside. She sighed before lifting her drink to her lips, pulling it away quickly when the cold liquid touched her lips.

"Bummer, I wanted to drink that."

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	4. Chapter Four Angela Reveals All

Hello, so I hope everyone's noticing I'm up-dating at a really fast rate :) Inspiration just struck so I'm able to churn out the chapter's really fast.

This, sadly, is the second last chapter. It was always going to be a fairly short story with a very specific ending so I hope everyone enjoys it. :)

This chapter, Angela tells Bella her secret while the Cullen men figure out a secret of their own! ;) Poor Bella's stuck in the middle of everything and the stress is beginning to get to her. Christmas morning arrives and things are taking a turn for the worst as the idea of confronting Edward is looking like the only way of sorting out Bella's confusion.

Disclaimer: Character's aren't mine.

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**Chapter Four – Angela Reveals All**

Lunch was a fairly quiet affair; with playful arguments between Rosalie and Emmet, sandwiches again and the ever present tension in the room. Bella watched as Esme sent Edward disapproving looks that made him squirm each time with a confused look on his face. Rose – while clearly enjoying herself – kept nervously glancing at Bella and then Emmett. Angela was talking happily to Ben, Jasper and Mike as Alice attempted to talk Jessica's ears off about fashion. Bella was left sitting uncomfortably next to Carlisle, who gave up trying to talk to her after she'd only answered in monosyllabic answers for the first couple of attempts.

Once lunch was over and everyone had dispersed back to their own tasks, Bella sat down in the lounge room with another cup of hot coco, enjoying a moment of peace. However, it was cut short by a sudden yell from upstairs.

"SHE'S WHAT!"

Emmet's loud voice could be heard yelling.

Curiously, she waited a moment, looking around to see if anyone else was going to investigate. When no one approached the stairs, she got up and slowly crept up the stairs, following the sound of the noise to Carlisle's office. Sliding up close, she pressed her ear to the door to hear better.

'_It's like I'm five and spying on my parents,_' she thought nostalgically to herself.

"-she just said she'd been feeling a bit sick recently, that's all. There's no reason for us to jump to conclusions." Edward was saying, but there was a small hint of doubt in his voice.

"Dude, that's what they all say when they know and don't want to tell you what's really happening." Jasper said knowledgably.

"Oh my God! She's going to have a baby!" Emmett said loudly, only to be shushed by numerous people.

'_Emmett knows about Rose!'_ Bella gasped.

"That's what it sounds like. You said she's been sick in the mornings, wasn't eating much for a while but suddenly she's eating a lot. It wouldn't surprise me if she starts having sever mood swings either." Carlisle answered calmly, sounding just like the doctor he was.

"I can't believe this… how the hell did it happen!" Edward said, slight frustration entering his voice.

"Well Edward, when two people love each other very much-" Jasper began.

"Oh shut up!"

"Well it'd have to have been at least a month ago." Carlisle offered.

"Anniversary." Edward said after a moment's pause.

Bella thought about it for a moment before silently agreeing with the date. She could remember Rose had spoken of some tropical get away Emmett had taken her on. With a wistful sigh, she also recalled that her own anniversary with Edward had been one of the last things they'd done together before he started all this avoidance crap.

"Anyway, while you panic about your newest revelation of your girl being pregnant, I've got to help Esme with getting those pots out of the tope cupboard." Jasper said, movement towards the door following his words.

Bella scrambled away from the door and sprinted to her room, closing the door just before he opened the office one.

Resting her back against the solid wood, Bella frowned.

'_Rose isn't going to be able to keep this a secret much longer if Emmett has already found out.'_

***()

Bella stayed in her room for the next few hours, avoiding the rest of the house, until she had to go downstairs to help with the dinner preparations. Tonight it was Angela who was there to help her; the other girl was frowning slightly as she stared out the window into the dusk where Ben was when Bella entered the room.

"You're so lucky, Angela." Bella sighed loudly from where she began slicing pieces of home made bread.

"What?" The girl looked over at her in confusion.

"You know, you got the happy ending and everything with Ben." Bella smiled, nodding in his direction.

Bella was surprised by the fairly bitter sounding laugh that suddenly escaped Angela's lips.

"Oh, it was an ending alright, just not the one I'd been expecting it to be." She said.

"What? Angela, is everything ok?" Bella asked; stopping what she was doing and turning her full attention to the other woman.

Angela stared as her hands unhappily, before sighing and turning to Bella, but she didn't make eye contact as she spoke.

"Well, I guess you'll find out either way. With Ben and me, it's not wonderful at all, I found out that, well, he's-he's been having an affair." She whispered the last bit, but Bella still heard.

"What! Are you sure, Angie?" She asked, concern filling her voice with a tinge of disbelief.

"Oh, I'm sure all right. When you walk in on your husband and some random woman right in the middle of it, you know." Bitterness laced her voice once again.

"Oh, Angie, why are you still with him then?" Bella asked softly, moving over and offering a comforting hug.

'_Of all the things she could have said, I'd never have picked this.'_

"I know, but I love this family and, despite everything, I do love Ben, so very much. He said it won't happen again but, I just…" She looked at Bella tearfully. "I don't know if I can trust him anymore, I want to, but I just don't know i-if I should." With that the tears came and Bella just pulled the sobbing woman into her arms.

She didn't know what to say. The couple she had been placing all her own hopes of happiness being something achievable on, turned out to be a fake. They weren't happy, just really good actors.

'_Is there anyone happy in this family?'_ She asked herself sadly, feelings of fear for her dying relationship with Edward churning like acid in her gut.

***()

The bed was cold, so very cold and lonely. She rolled onto her side to face the other half of the king sized bed, the empty half.

After she had found out the truth about poor Angela and Ben's marriage she had felt sick. She'd barely eaten anything at dinner and as soon as it was over and cleaned up, she'd begged off tired to bed. She'd even refused Esme's offer of hot coco, insisting she was too tired to do anything other than sleep.

However, lying here in the dark room alone, she just found herself feeling worse. Tears began to gather in her eyes and she didn't bother to hold them back. Laying here felt like a premonition. This is what it would be like without Edward, alone, cold, and dark. She wished she could go back, even to just this time last year, everyone had been so happy that Christmas, and everything had been bright. People where so clearly in love, sneaky kisses where exchanged everywhere and the house was brimming with mistletoe. Bella hadn't seen a single piece to grace the halls this year; it was all empty and… missing.

How she missed that mistletoe.

She reached out her arm, moving it under the covers over Edward's side of the bed, where it was cold as he wasn't in bed yet. Pulling the covers up tightly under her chin, she pulled back her arm and held it close to her body to warm it back up as she closed her eyes, trying to block out the empty coldness. But closing her eyes couldn't block out the darkness.

***()

Bella didn't sleep well that night, leaving her feeling stressed and angry Christmas morning. To make matters worse, she was woken to the sounds of Alice and Jasper fighting next door!

Sitting up angrily, she stomped out of the room and went to walk over and bang on the door while yelling at them, when she was prevented by Rose dashing across the hall again and into the bathroom. Figuring that her anger could wait and Rose would probably need her more, she went into the bathroom and locked the door behind her like she had yesterday. Trying to politely ignore the fact the blond was throwing up in the toilet bowel, she got a glass of water and some mouthwash ready for her.

Rose was rinsing her mouth when an annoying banging came from the door.

"Bella? Are you ok?" Edward called through, actually sounding fairly concerned.

"I'm fine!" She called out, trying to calm down before she blew up at someone. She was just so tired and sick of all the secrets.

"Are you sure? You left the room pretty quickly." He said.

"Edward, I'm fine! Just go down to breakfast!" She snapped, her anger leaking into her voice at his annoying persistence. She just didn't want to have to put up with the man today; she was already so upset with him as it was. If he didn't leave her alone she was likely to do something stupid like confront him about everything and she wasn't sure if her heart could take rejection right now.

"Ok." He said, voice muffled by the door and she listened to the footsteps as he left.

"Bella, are you ok?" Rose asked, concern in her voice as she pushed herself to her feet.

"I'm fine." She said tiredly before leaving, not wanting Rose to be able to question her further.

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	5. Chapter Five Secrets Revealed

So, here is the final for this short story.

I'm not sure if I'm 100% happy with it; it sounded better in my head. Anyway, I think the epilogue is good and I hope anyone reading this will enjoy it.

Disclaimer: Character's are not mine.

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**Chapter Five – Secrets Revealed **

As the morning continued Bella was most definitely NOT feeling the Christmas spirit of the day. It seemed that her anger rose the longer she was in the company of everyone, their problem's hanging over their heads like neon lit up signs. She hated the fact that she now knew pretty much everyone's relationship issues.

She could see them everywhere; there was no break from them. She watched as Rosalie avoided Emmett, as Jasper and Alice exchanged scathing looks when they thought no one was looking. Edward's avoidance of her was even worse than usual and she could see the fakeness of Angela's smile and the guilty look in Ben's eyes every time he looked at her. She could see the lines of sadness on Esme's face, the sheer ignorance of Carlisle and then there was Mike and Jessica who only added to the problems with their continual flirting with everyone, making tempers boil and the tense atmosphere even worse!

Like all emotional upheavals, they explode at some point. Bella found her breaking point as they were sitting down for Christmas lunch in the sunroom.

Bella had just walked into the sunroom carrying the salad bowl and glanced over at Edward.

"Edward, can you take this for me?" She asked, mind already thinking about the bowl of colesore she had to get.

"Yeah, just give me a moment, Bella." He said walking away from her to do god knew what.

The dismissal caused something in Bella to snap and before she could think about it, she hurled the glass salad bowel at him. Luckily for Edward, he managed to duck just in time for the bowel to shatter on the wall behind him.

"What the hell, Bella?" He yelled, more out of shock than anything else. Silence descended upon the rest of the family as they stared at the normally sweet and kind Bella whose cheeks were now flushed red, hands clenched white and fury burning in her eyes.

"I give up!" She yelled. "I can't take it anymore! You lot better start spilling these stupid secrets or, hell, I'm going to do it for you without a shred of remorse." She gave everyone a deadly looking glare, but no one moved, everyone too surprised.

'How can they all be so blind?' She cried angrily in her head.

She knew she shouldn't meddle in everyone else's problems, but they weren't doing anything about them! Family was supposed to support and help each other, weren't they? How could they help if they didn't know anyone was having problems? How could they not have noticed at least some of the problems going on?

"You two! You love each other so stop fighting all the time for heaven's sake! Alice, you shop so much that it become obsessive! Stop telling everyone they look like crap if they're wearing something YOU don't like. Not everyone needs to look perfect ALL the time. Jasper, stop being such a coward and a guy and actually TALK to her about this; not yell, but talk." Bella felt as if a small weight had been lifted off her chest and the feeling made her feel so much better she couldn't stop the words from tubling out of her mouth. The fact that the duo now looked gobsmacked also made her feel slightly satisfied.

She turned to Rose.

"Tell him about it! He's not going to be angry with you, he'll love it. I know that and you have to trust me on this, Rosalie. Emmett, try being a little more perceptive will you? It's SO obvious!" Bella snapped. As she was catching her breath, Rose suddenly burst out:

"I'm pregnant!"

Silence once again filled the room as all eyes snapped to her in shock.

"What?" Jasper – of all people – yelled in shock.

"Why the hell are you shocked? You lot were talking about it yesterday?" Bella asked, momentarily dstracted from her anger.

"We didn't know Rose was pregnant, we thought YOU were pregnant." He said, pointing at Bella.

"Me! Why?"

"You were in the bathroom being sick and you've been sick for the last couple of weeks. Not to mention you've been acting weird around Edward." He said.

"I've been acting weird?" Her eyes flashed as they glanced at the object of her ire before she changed targets.

"Are you or are you not having an affair?" She snapped at Carlisle. He looked stunned at her for a moment before looking over at Esme who was watching him with surprisingly cold and calculating eyes.

"Why would you think I would do such a thing?" He asked sftly, hurt evident in his voice.

"You've been working so much lately… what else was I supposed to think?" She asked softly.

"I was going to give it to you after lunch when we all exchanged gifts, but I've been working so much to pull in some extra money to get you some tickets to go on that cruse that you wanted so badly."

Embarrassment filttered across her face before he laughed softly and leaned over to hug her.

"Now that I think about it I should have expected you to think something like this, if I had been in your shoes I'd have thought the same thing."

"Well, at least one relationship is fixed, unlike yours which is so screwed up at the moment." Bella said, looking over at Ben distastefully.

"I've been thinking about it actually, and, I'd like to try and start thing over again. I know I made a mistake, a massive mistake at that, but I truly love you and want to try again." Ben said, looking sadly over at Angela who smiled feebly.

"I think I'd like that too, but it'll take a long time for me to trust you again."

"Gods, your family is so full of stupid drama." Jessica said scathingly to Mike from the end of the table. Eyes flashing again, Bella took a step towards her with the intention of violence, but Edward suddenly put an arm around her to both restrain her and calm her down.

"Bella, I think you need to calm down a bit." He said soothingly.

This, however, had the opposite affect and she slapped away his arm furiously, tears forming in her eyes as she looked at him.

"Good God Edward. What the hell if going on with you? She's right, everyone in this family has their problems but, I wish that you would be the one to tell me what YOU'RE problem is. I know everyone else's problems, but I don't know the only one that directly affects me. I love you so much, Edward, I always have. But you have to be honest with me, no joking around or stringing alone for a laugh or out of guilt." She paused for a moment, trying to stop herself from dying inside as she finally confronted him about it all.

"Bella, what are you talking about?"

"Edward, if you don't love me anymore then just break it off, stop pretending that everything's ok and that you're just always busy."

"You think I don't love you?" He asked, real surprise entering his voice.

"When was the last time you talked to me? When the hell was the last time you held my hand, kissed me, or even had just a normal conversation with me without all the awkwardness in the air between us? I don't even remember the last time you sad that you loved me." She broke of tearfully, furiously trying to wipe away any tears that had managed to escape.

"Bella, I love you more than anything else in this world. You're my life now, always have been really. I was going to do this later tonight, but, well," without further ado he suddenly knelt down on one knee before her shocked eyes.

Reaching into his picket he pulled out a small velvet ring case and opened it to reveal a simple silver band with a sapphire in a diamond shape in the centre, ivory engraved around the rest of the bane.

"Isabella Marie Swan, will you marry me?"

Chocking on tears, she laughed and nodded her head, feeling lighter than she could ever remember.

"Yes, oh, yes, of cause I will Edward!"

A brilliantly crooked smile crossed his lips as he slipped the ring onto her finger before standing and hugging her, kissing her softly on the lips as a sign of how much he loved her.

One Year Later…

Lunch time on Christmas day had always been an eventful day in the Cullen family, the year before especially so. Sitting around the large table in the sunroom, Bella smiled as she watched her family.

Rosalie was sitting next to Emmett, their little girl of five months, Katie, was being held up right in her father's lap. Rosalie was laughing at something Emmett had said before the man leaned over and kissed his wife gently, the little girl gurgling between them. Next to the small family was Carlisle who was smiling up at Esme as she put some salad on his plate. Both were smiling softly at one another, clearly still as in love as when they're been young.

Angela and Ben were sitting beside each other next. Angela had been fixing up a plate for herself when Ben tapped her on the shoulder causing her to turn in surprise. He quickly leaned in and gave her a short, sweet kiss, causing her eyes the light up. From what Bella had heard, the two where back to being madly in love and had just decided to move back in together.

Alice and Jasper where both cooing over Alice's growing stomach, hands gently resting on it as they spoke to the yet-to-be-born baby. After Christmas last year they had decided to begin seeing a marriage councillor and, as evident in the large stomach Alice was now sporting, it'd had been a grand success.

There was more space at the table this year as Mike and Jessica had kindly not attended. Bella had heard through the family that apparently Jessica was now engaged to Mike. Bella didn't miss their presence.

Bella smiled, as she looked at all her loved ones, well almost all of them…

"Here you go, love." Edward's warm voice came from her side and as she looked over at him the room seemed to get just that bit brighter. She accepted the glass of juice he handed her and offered him a bright smile in return.

"Hey, everyone." Edward suddenly said, catching the attention of the rest of the table. Bella felt her nerves increase, as excitement became a bundle of butterflies in her gut.

Edward gave her one of his crooked smiles as he took her hand and stood up, pulling her up with him.

"Bella and I have something important to tell you all." He started.

"Somebody hide the salad bowl!" Emmett stage whispered, causing the table to laugh and Bella to blush in embarrassment. Emmett made a point of saying this every time they were all together and someone went to announce something.

"No, nothing quite like that." Edward sent her his own amused smile, which just made her redder.

"Oh, shut up." Bella mumbled.

"No, what we wanted to tell you all is that we're now proudly expecting – Bella's pregnant!" Edward said, the pride clear to all in his voice.

Immediately the women squealed excitedly and got up to hug Bella while the men congratulated Edward.

"Oh, congratulations!"

"This is so exciting!"

"I'm so happy for you!"

Once the laughter and congratulations had died down and everyone had returned to their seats and more normal conversation had resumed, Edward turned to Bella. Leaning in close to her ear, his whispered.

"Look up."

Shooting him a curious look, she looked up and gasped at what she saw. Sitting innocently above them was a piece of mistletoe.

"Mistletoe." She whispered, before looking over at him, love in her eyes.

"I love you, Mrs Bella Cullen." He whispered, breath trailing over her own lips as he leaned in to kiss her.

"I love you too." She just managed to get out before their lips touched.

Smiling into the kiss, Bella knew she was loved and that her life may not be perfect, but it was bright and full of happiness.

Even better, it was full of love.

**The End.**

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